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samanthajane13
09-20-2009, 02:03 AM
By CRISTIAN SALAZAR, Associated Press Writer Cristian Salazar, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 26 mins ago

NEW YORK – The body of a naked woman with her throat slashed and a knife sticking out of it was found Saturday at a luxury hotel next to Central Park, police said.

Investigators looking into the death at the Jumeirah Essex House hotel, on the park's southern edge, said the woman appeared to be in her 30s.

A maid found the body face down on the kitchen floor in a condo at the Manhattan hotel on Saturday afternoon, police said.

The hotel, which is near Broadway and upscale Fifth Avenue shops such as Tiffany & Co. and Bergdorf Goodman, said in a statement its "heartfelt condolences go out to the victim's family."

Guests at the art deco landmark, which opened in 1931 and features 509 luxury rooms and suites up to 2,500 square feet, said they didn't know a body had been found until newspaper and television reporters showed up and started asking questions. But they said they had noticed an increase in security.

Tourist John Carcio, visiting from Seattle, said he was staying with his wife on the hotel's 10th floor, where the woman's body was found. He said they were returning in the afternoon to their $800-a-night room at the 44-story hotel following a visit to the Carnegie Deli, a few blocks away, and were met by police officers upon arriving at their floor.

"We immediately knew something bad had happened," he said.

Crime scene investigators and uniformed police officers were at the hotel well into the evening, walking the marble hallways.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090920/ap_on_re_us/us_hotel_body_found

samanthajane13
09-21-2009, 02:36 AM
Housekeeping chief arrested in NYC hotel killing
By CRISTIAN SALAZAR, Associated Press Writer Cristian Salazar, Associated Press Writer – Sun Sep 20, 8:30 pm ET

NEW YORK – A housekeeping manager at a luxury hotel next to Central Park has been arrested in the death of a woman who was found in a room strangled with a knife sticking from her neck, police said on Sunday.

Longtime hotel employee Derrick Praileu was arrested in the hours after the body of Dubai businesswoman Andree Bejjani was found in a condo at the Jumeriah Essex House, a 44-story art deco tower featuring hundreds of posh rooms, police said.

The Manhattan hotel, which is near Broadway and upscale Fifth Avenue shops such as Tiffany & Co. and Bergdorf Goodman, said in a statement on Sunday that an employee had been arrested in Bejjani's death.

"Our sincere condolences go out to the victim's family, and we have offered our full support during this difficult time," the statement read.

There was no answer Sunday at a Bronx telephone number listed for Praileu, and police said they didn't know if he had an attorney.

A maid found Bejjani, 44, face down and naked on the kitchen floor on Saturday afternoon. Bejjani's throat had been slashed. An exercise rope was wrapped around her neck, though police said it did not appear to be a factor in her death.

The cause of death was strangulation, the medical examiner's office said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_re_us/us_hotel_body_found;_ylt=Ap9eZgckXEWsVUyhFPh9J9NH2 ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1NWtpYWZjBHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bi1jaGFub mVsBHNsawNob3VzZWtlZXBpbmc-